Entebbe regional referral hospital has complained to the Health ministry over unpaid risk allowances for its health workers handling coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.
Dr Moses Muwanga, the hospital director, reminded ministry of Health permanent secretary, Dr Diana Atwine that his health workers team had not yet been paid risk allowances for two months. These include 100 hospital workers including 70 frontline health workers. Each front line worker earns between Shs 40,000 and Shs 80,000 per day while on duty.
Atwine was presiding over the discharge of another 44 patients who had recovered from coronavirus from the hospital.
"We pray that somehow you recognize, if possible, we could have a thank you from the ministry of Health for work well done. As Entebbe, I think we have tried to make the ministry to move smoothly and whatever patient has been availed to us," said Muwanga.
Atwine said the risk allowances had been paid but attributed the delays to the approval processes. According to her, the payment process was already initiated by Bank of Uganda to the individual accounts in various commercial banks. She said now that the ministry of Finance has approved the payments, the money should be reflected on individual bank accounts of the health workers by Saturday this week.
Atwine hailed Entebbe health workers as 'heroes' because they have handled cases amidst challenges of delayed payment of risk allowances. Entebbe hospital has handled a total of 158 patients, of which 140 have recovered including patient zero and the two frontline health workers from Lira regional referral hospital. As a result, there are 18 patients left in the hospital.
Dr Christopher Nsereko, a physician and head of the clinical team at Entebbe hospital also lauded the hospital workers for staying safe while handling the patients and suspects for the last three months. So far, 28 health workers across Uganda have contracted the virus.
Nsereko appealed to the community and employers to embrace the recovered patients, majority truck drivers. He says the truck drivers are always worried about stigma and loss of jobs while at the hospital.
"We’re so happy to be sending off another batch of patients that we have really successfully treated. The biggest challenge all these patients have faced is many of them being truck drivers, they are worried about their jobs. So I would call on the bosses, the people who employ these people, to know that it is not a disease that you just say; 'me, I want COVID.' Please we ask the community to accept these people and please not to terminate them from their jobs. The patients have been around for up to 10-18 days. Currently now because of the many testing centres, we get the results very quickly and we thank the government for that." said Nsereko.
The 44 patients, including 43 long-distance truck drivers were the second biggest number of recovered patients being discharged the same day from one facility ever since Uganda recorded its first coronavirus case on March 21. On Monday, 47 truck drivers, the biggest number across the country were discharged from the same hospital.
Atwine said that the latest discharge of 44 patients shows that the hospital is doing a commendable job. The latest discharge brings the total number of patients who have recovered to 486.
Uganda has so far confirmed a total of 741 cases after 9 more people were confirmed positive from the 2,702 samples tested yesterday. Dr Atwine noted that some of the patients recovered after spending ten days in the hospital.